This Time of Year Take the Sloe Way & Cocktail Recipes

English, Irish, and Swedish hedgerows taste particularly delicious at this time of year.

“There is a very long tradition of country people making their own sloe gin in Ireland and it started when fields were enclosed with hedging, probably during Norman times or even earlier, “says Bertha’s Revenge’s Justin Green whose Ballyvolane House Spirits Company at Castlelyons, Co Cork makes “Sloe Bertha”.

“Blackthorn was used as the branches are thick and spiny and they also produce bumper crops of sloe berries every autumn and are picked usually after the first frost. Most makers use sloes, blackberries, and elderflowers that are all foraged from the hedgerows at different times of the year. We pick the elderflowers in May and make a large batch of elderflower cordial.

“The rule with sloes is to pick them after the first frost but the key is to pick them when they are ripe, which can vary on the weather. We usually pick ours around the end of October. You can bring on the “frost” by putting the sloes in the freezer. If you didn’t know, sloes are small plum-like berries growing on the blackthorns. 

Adds Bertha’s Revenge co-partner, Anthony Jackson: “A couple of Hedgerow Martinis before dinner will warm the cockles during the winter months. our wild sloes are picked from the hedgerows around Ballyvolane and beyond when they ripen in the autumn. We then steep them in Bertha’s Revenge Gin for several months and add some sugar syrup at the end to sweeten them. It’s sweet, but not too sweet and we are careful to strike the right balance. It is lovely and neat in a hip flash and also we serve it up with the cheese board as a port substitute at Ballyvolane House. Sloe gin is synonymous with winter, especially at Christmas. We mix festive bellinis, and martinis or sip it as a digestive after dinner. It also makes a brilliant Christmas present!”

“Ours Sloe and Damson take over six months to craft, “says Peter Mulryan, CEO of the Blackwater Distillery in Ballyduff Upper, Co Waterford. “We start with soaking the previous season’s sloes which we have frozen. This is usually in early May. We add fresh damsons when they are ripe (late July or early August). Damsons brighten the flavor, so it’s fruitier than just using sloes. Then, in October, we sweeten it with light sugar syrup. Leave it to stand until just before Halloween, then bottle.2

Says Henry Jeffrys of Master of Malt which offers a wide range of sloe gins: “Sloe gin isn’t just a winter warmer, it’s also a versatile cocktail ingredient providing sweetness, fruit and subtle nuttiness. Try it in a Bramble instead of creme de mure or in a simple spritz with Prosecco and sparkling water.” 

Ruby-red gin appreciation is growing in the UK. In Devon. Salcombe Distillery makes  Victuallers Special Edition and Snapes Point Sloe and Damson gins. In Cornwall, by Wrecking Coast, in Kent by Anno, Suffolk Adnams, and, in Surrey, Beckett’s and Wessex. Gloucestershire has Daylesford Organic. London boasts Portobello Road. The Plymouth or Black Friars Distillery, established in 1793  which makes it the oldest operating distillery in Britain, also has a sloe stonefruit gin.  

As well as being used to make Irish shillelaghs, sloe is also the prime ingredient of Spanish Pacharan/patxaran with anise spirit. It has its own PGI (Protected Geographical Indication) status that protects the “country” spirit’s identity and traditional processes. The drink is originally from Navarra, the land of the Pamplona Bull Run, in northeast Spain, bordering Rioja, Aragon, and Nouvelle-Aquitaine in France.

The French have “epine” and Italians “bargnolino”. Sweden is represented by Herno. Germany by Monkey 47, Cumberland and Elephant (which contributes to two elephant foundations), France by Gabriel Boudier’s Duke, Switzerland by Studer Swiss Highland Sloe, Spain Rives, and Slovenia by Broken Bridge. Poland has “nalewaka” (infused in vodka)

But, with terroir being so important these days, it’s surprising that Ireland only has two-and-half professional stone fruit gin makers. The Boatyard Distillery at Tullybay Marina. Enniskillen, Co Fermanagh also make a sloe gin.

“Our Sloe Gin starts as our Minke Irish Gin,” says Oisin Mulcahy, head distiller and blender of Michael Sully’s Clonakilty Distillery. Into which we macerate sloe berries for some time over a year to extract the full range of flavors available. We then add a special blend of sugars designed to balance the tartness of the sloes and deliver a profile that is complex and balanced. Not too sweet. Perfect for cocktails or on its own.” 

Sloe gin isn’t just the taste of autumn. It’s for all year round. It’s been a contemporary classic for a long, long time. The drupes are to be enjoyed. Not feared.

How to Make Sloe Gin

| Courtesy of Bertha’s Revenge

• 500 Sloes
• 300 sugar
• 1 x 70 cl bottle of Bertha’s Revenge gin

Method

1. Remove the stalks and leaves from the sloes put them in a plastic bag and place them in the freezer overnight.
2. Give them a light roll with a rolling pin while still in the bag and decant into a bottle using a funnel.
3. Add in the bottle of Bertha’s Revenge Gin.
4. Give the bottle a good shake every day for three weeks.
5. After three weeks, allow the sloe gin to settle for a couple of days without shaking, then decant it into a clean bottle through a muslin cloth.
6. We always add sugar at the end as you can control the level of sweetness this way. Make a simple sugar syrup by heating the sugar and water in a saucepan until the sugar dissolves.
7. Allow to cool then add sugar syrup to the sloe gin to taste.

You can keep the sloe gin for years and it’s a great drink at Christmas time.

Hedgerow Martinis

( Makes two)

• 2 shots / 71 mls of Bertha’s Revenge gin
• 3 shots / 106.5 mls of sloe gin
• 1 shot / 35.5 ml fresh lime juice
• ¾ shot / 27 mls elderflower cordial
• 4 fresh blackberries (2 go into the cocktail shaker, 2 are used for the garnish)
• 4 to 6 lumps of ice
• 1 cocktail shaker
• 2 chilled Martini glasses

Method

1. When using a cocktail shaker, always avoid trying to make too much in one go, as overflowing the cocktail shaker means it doesn’t mix well. Mixing two martinis per cocktail shaker works best.
2. Put all the ingredients into the cocktail shaker and shake vigorously for 30 seconds.
3. Chill the martini glasses by putting them into the freezer or leave a few lumps of ice with water in the glasses for a few minutes.
4. Pour the Hedgerow Martini through a cocktail shaker into the glasses.
5. Garnish with one frozen blackberry per martini glass.

Enjoy!